I love head coach Jeff Fisher. I love his body of work. I love his philosophy of the game. I love his smash mouth style of play. I loved it when he signed on as the head coach of St. Louis Rams. When he let slip the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft last year, I was completely willing to look at it as the move of a strategic mastermind.

As J.D. Souther said “Time Passes… Things Change” and all too often, the NFL stands for “Not For Long.”

What have the Rams actually gotten out of the deal that sent Robert Griffen III away? Well for one, it means they stuck with a quarterback in Sam Bradford who has a 58.6 percent completion percentage, averaging 225 yards per game and only one season as a starter when he had more touchdowns than interceptions.

In the form of picks, they have so far gotten Michael Brockers who has managed four career sacks, Janoris Jenkins who has managed four career interceptions and Rokevious Watkins, who was released only to sign with the Chiefs. And of course, the perfect blend of talent and character issues that is Isaiah Pead.

In this time, we have also seen hard-running Steven Jackson shipped out of town and the fragile yet gutsy Danny Amendola delivered with a pretty pink bow to the New England Patriots.

At the start of the 2013 season. we find a Rams team with Chris Givens as the top receiver paired with rookie Tavon Austin, and a stable of undersized and underperforming running backs to go with a defense that has managed to rise to middling, thanks to the defensive line.

The Rams are supposed to be a team rebuilding and on the rise, but this much youth with only a handful of wins with just Jared Cook as the only high-value weapon added to the team feels like Fisher is a step too slow in the long game in an ever-competitive NFC West.

The Rams may have squeaked out a victory in Week 1 against the rebranded Arizona Cardinals, but this smells like the beginning of a very long and painful season.